I was honored to be included in the list of 16 “media influencers” as named in the 2017 monthly edition of Local Media Today, by the Local Media Association (an industry trade association of more than 2,400 newspaper, TV, radio, pure plays and other media partners).

It’s a pretty impressive group to be included in and I was turly honored to be included.

Here were the questions they posed and the answers I gave.

What do you envision as the best opportunities for local media in 2017?

Digital Services continue to show explosive growth and I see no reason that won’t continue. Advertisers are also seeing the power of combining digital with traditional media to multiply the impact.

The time for “trying out” digital is over. The right media mix is powerful and can show dramatic results.

I’m happy that advertisers and media are finally starting to focus on the right things: what works to meet the client needs. In this age of mertics, too many people have focused on the wrong data points.

What are some of the biggest challenges you forsee for local media in the New Year

There are tons of different players now selling digital. It’s no longer just the established media companies or the big name national companies. It’s so easy to white label a service that mom-and-pop and one-person agencies are also selling digital.

Local business are often overwhelmed by the number of unsolicited sales call, emails, and drop-ins they get. Just getting their attention is difficult and, too often, sales people just give up before they get to have a serious conversation with a business.

There has never been a more critical time to establish a deep relationship with a customer and that mean you better understand all aspects of adveritsing and marketing and embrace digital solutions as well as other media choices.

What do you think should be a central guiding principle for local media in 2017

In a lot of ways, it’s really back-to-basics. What does the customer really need, how can we meet that need, and what does the job. Then do more of it.

Get the right product of front of the right customer at the right time.

If adcvertisers see us as completely a commodity business, we lose. They’ll almost always be able to buy stuff cheaper somewhere else. We have to focus on being holistic marketers with a relentless focus on helping them grow their business and achieve their goals. If we do that, we’ll be fine.